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Motel 6 under fire after Arizona locations share guest list with ICE

Posted on September 15, 2017 at 1:04 AM

Motel 6 says its employees in Phoenix will no longer work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following news reports that its workers were reporting on guests they believed were in the United States illegally.

Motel 6 says its employees in Phoenix will no longer work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following news reports that its workers were reporting on guests they believed were in the United States illegally.(Anita Snow, Associated Press)

PHOENIX, Arizona -- The Motel 6 budget hotel chain is fending off criticism after reports said locations in the Phoenix area were sharing guests lists with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Phoenix New Times reported this week ICE agents made at least 20 arrests at two Motel 6s in the area between February and August. Workers at both motels tell the New Times it was a standard practice to share guest information with ICE.

Phoenix police also confirmed to the New Times that "a number" of hotels and motels had shared guests lists with officers.

A spokesperson for ICE would not confirm how it was receiving information, the New Times reports.

"It's worth noting that hotels and motels, including those in the Phoenix area, have frequently been exploited by criminal organizations engaged in highly dangerous illegal enterprises, including human trafficking and human smuggling," Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, a spokeswoman for ICE's Phoenix division, said in a statement.

The practice of voluntarily releasing guests lists drew the ire of lawyers for people arrested at the motels and from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Motel 6 has responded, first releasing a statement Wednesday saying the Phoenix-area locations were providing the guests lists "without the knowledge of senior management," the Washington Post reports.

The chain said in another statement released Thursday it would "make it clear" that locations are prohibited from voluntarily providing daily guests lists to ICE agents, according to the Post.

"Protecting the privacy and security of our guests are core values of our company," the statement said, according to CNN. "Motel 6 apologizes for this incident and will continue to work to earn the trust and patronage of our millions of loyal guests."

Motel 6 has more than 1,400 locations nationally. The two locations in the Phoenix area are corporate-owned and are not franchises, the Post reports.

The New Times says both are located in predominantly-Latino neighborhoods.